[buyrihn]

Thanks. There are 4 state farm agents around my area that I know of. I will be paying them a visit tomorrow and see what each has to offer. Have you ever filed a claim? Have they come forward right away or try to give you the same crap most insurance companies give its costumers?

They didn't even look at the phone for the times I had to file. I chose the reimbursement option, so I sent them the bill for the phone I had already paid. Relatively painless. Did I mention there's no deductible?

The insurance does not cover water damage, does it? I had a phone in the past, and they said it was damaged by water, which the insurance does not cover.

Yes, it does.

[uptempo777]

The insurance does not cover water damage, does it? I had a phone in the past, and they said it was damaged by water, which the insurance does not cover.

Make sure with the insurance policy you are getting but my insurance covers water damage as well.

It's also worldwide so if I take my cell phone, laptop and digital camera out of the country on vacation and any of all of them gets stolen or drops into the ocean, i'm covered.

uptempo777

[jcm114]

Just go through State Farm or another insurance company and get a Personal Articles Policy for your phone. Covers damage, water damage, loss and theft. No deductible and I'm actually having them insure my laptop and my digital camera on top of that. All of that for $40 a year! Yes I said "a year".

Besides, if you get it from Asurion or the phone company, they'll most likely give you a refurb. With this, you can get a brand new phone and they'll give you the money to reimburse you.

How come most people don't do this?

Wow, are you doing this right now for the Pre? If I already do auto-insurance with State Farm, is this pretty quick to do?

[uptempo777]

Wow, are you doing this right now for the Pre? If I already do auto-insurance with State Farm, is this pretty quick to do?

Yeah pretty much got it done all in one day over the phone. I wasn't even a State Farm customer prior to calling. Might be cheaper or quicker if you are already a customer.

[larnapp]

Big thanks to uptempo777 for the State Farm info. I'm going that direction. Plus, here's a little more to consider:

You know, most gold cards, certainly American Express, offer protection and extend the manufacturer's warranty. The AMEX gold card doubles the manufacturer's warranty up to a year. That means the Pre's 1 year becomes a 2 year and by then you'll be able to upgrade/cross grade to the latest. Plus, there's even insurance for accidental damage, like water (but I don't remember the specifics of how long you're protected).

Also, people keep saying the insurance is $7 (each month). That adds up to $168 for 2 years. If you lose it or it gets water damaged, you tack a $100 deductible on top of that. That's as much as $268 over 2 years (if you need to make a claim) or $168 if you don't. I'd rather pay $40 a year for the State Farm route, especially if I could add things like my camera gear and laptop to it.

[jcm114]

Yeah pretty much got it done all in one day over the phone. I wasn't even a State Farm customer prior to calling. Might be cheaper or quicker if you are already a customer.

Oh, you didn't even go in to the office?

How long is the process to do this? Did you just tell them the model of the phone and they take care of the rest?

THANKS

[atourgates]

You know, most gold cards, certainly American Express, offer protection and extend the manufacturer's warranty. The AMEX gold card doubles the manufacturer's warranty up to a year. That means the Pre's 1 year becomes a 2 year and by then you'll be able to upgrade/cross grade to the latest. Plus, there's even insurance for accidental damage, like water (but I don't remember the specifics of how long you're protected).

Be careful putting too much dependence on the AMEX / Other credit card route. Their warranty protection is pretty solid, but their theft / damage protection is pretty limited. It typically only lasts 60 days, and has plenty of exclusions. For example - I bought two iMac's from an Apple store, put 'em in my trunk, and went next door to eat lunch. I came back, and the iMac's had been stolen.

Amex refused to cover them because they were "In a vehicle" and were therefore excluded. Of course, my auto insurance didn't cover that type of theft either - so in the end I learned a $3K lesson about not leaving valuable things in the car.

I'd recommend going the valuable property insurance route as well - I've done it for years with musical instruments, computers & camera equipment. But some providers (like my current, USAA) won't issue valuable property insurance for phones.

One final note - your renters or homeowners might automatically cover your phones. For example - my USAA renters insurance covers our phones (with a $100 deductible) if they're stolen, but not if they're damaged - no matter where they're stolen from.

TEP used to be worth it (in my opinion), now with the $100 deductible, it's definitely worth exploring other options.

[uptempo777]

Oh, you didn't even go in to the office?

How long is the process to do this? Did you just tell them the model of the phone and they take care of the rest?

THANKS

They asked for the replacement value of all of the items and for copies of the receipts and serial numbers which I emailed to them.

One thing I asked them was how it would work if I lost or had my Pre stolen. Since it costed me $199 (bought from Best Buy) but to buy a new one would cost around $600. I was worried they'd only give me $199 since that's what I paid. But they said they'll pay for the entire cost to replace it (which in this case is $600).

[Smithwicks]

State Farm sounds good, it's just too bad they don't work in Massachusetts

[kcs7272]

People need to remember the phone still has a 1 year warranty.

I know and I used it with Palm Inc. The REFURB they sent me back only has a 30 day warranty (loop hole rip off) I should get to keep the remainder of my original warranty.